Free Books

Take a look at the range of books written or contributed to by Ken McMaster and HMA below.

Feeling Angry Playing Fair

This book is for men who find themselves caught up in patterns of behaviour involving anger and the abuse, either physical or verbal, of others. For so long men have sought to dominate their world, but the challenge for modern men is to expose their old belief systems for what they are – destructive for themselves and for those around them. Having exposed the inappropriateness of old belief systems, the challenge for men is to then adopt a new system based on respect and power-sharing.

Through the processes of change introduced in this book, men can learn to implement and maintain a non-abusive lifestyle in which open, caring and honest communication are the norm.

The author makes no secret of the difficulties that can face men seeking to change their behaviours. However, this book offers much that can make the task easier. Men who accept the challenge and achieve a lifestyle based on sharing and respect can look forward to a more satisfying and less stressful way of relating to other people.

Will they do it again?

Everyday we are bombarded with the reality that people do bad things to each other as well as to themselves. Those of us who work in the human services are increasingly being asked to make judgements about the safety of people we work with. What judgements we make and how we make them is the focus of this book. A number of key thinkers have been asked to write about their experience in risk assessment and management and the challenges that this field of practice poses for practitioners.

Effective interventions with Offenders: Lessons Learned

The view of the 1970’s and 80’s – that in terms of rehabilitation programmes, nothing works – continues to exert an influence that is no longer deserved. Over the last twenty years more than 2000 published evaluations and 75 meta-analyses have shown that carefully designed and delivered interventions, supported by good supervision, at their best make a real difference to reoffending rates. Their effectiveness is comparable to that of counselling for mental health issues. What are the keys to an effective programme? One thing is clear – rehabilitation is advanced work. This book offers answers drawn from the research and experience of New Zealand practitioners across the field – it includes the learning of those who work with offenders in prison and the community, with men and women in separate programmes, with youth and with Maori and Pacific people. One contribution considers the legal question: since programmes are now shown to be effective, do offenders have a right to treatment?

Family violence has emerged from behind closed doors and is now recognised as a major problem in Aotearoa New Zealand, as it is overseas. In New Zealand we have lose to 25 year’s experience in developing and delivering programmes to address family violence.

Where are we in our practice approaches and intervention to stem the tide of family violence?

What have we achieved?

What approaches work?

This book answers these questions and is a timely reminder of the importance of intervention. it reviews what has occurred, then takes the next

Problem Gambling: A New Zealand Perspective on Treatment

Problem gambling is a major social issue and a challenging area of social work practice. This new book explores issues facing those treating problem gambling in New Zealand. It brings together the writings of practitioners dealing with a range of difficulties in the field: